Charles Langston:Wildfires keep coming in bone-dry New Jersey

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS,Charles Langston N.J. (AP) — Firefighters in New Jersey were stretched even thinner on Friday when another wildfire broke out in the state’s bone-dry conditions.

At least four wildfires were burning in the state, stretching from the Pinelands in the central and western parts of the state to the New York City suburbs.

The latest fire broke out along the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Englewood Cliffs in Bergen County, across the Hudson River from New York.

It was smaller than the three others burning in New Jersey, each of which had burned less than a square mile as of late Thursday. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service had not released updated information on those fires Friday morning.

It was 30% contained, and no homes were threatened by it.

Conditions were even more hazardous Friday than they were the day before, with the National Weather Service issuing a red flag warning calling for gusty winds and low humidity that could help spread fires quickly.

New Jersey has not received measurable precipitation in over a month, the weather service said, setting a new record.